Details of the Night Tehran Fell: The Reality is More Dangerous than the Official Narrative
On the morning of June 13, 2025, a pivotal moment was recorded in the history of the conflict between Israel and Iran. Over 200 Israeli warplanes, including F-35, F-15, and F-16 models, breached Iranian airspace without Iran firing a single missile in response. This was not a conventional military strike, but a complex operation that revealed the collapse of Iran’s internal security and military system.
In the heart of Tehran, explosions erupted from multiple sites, targeting nuclear facilities, military headquarters, and the residences of senior officials. The shock was not only from the scale of the strikes but also from their origin: the assault began from within Iran itself.
Israeli Mossad agents had infiltrated Iranian society more than a year prior. They learned the language, integrated with the population, and exploited the state’s fragility to stockpile weapons, smuggle drones, and disable radar and air defense systems before the attack commenced. Military sources revealed the establishment of a secret drone base within Tehran, from which suicide drones were launched to strike air defense batteries and cripple response capabilities.
More alarming was that the operation did not limit itself to bombings but focused on assassinating top leaders. Forged emails lured army and Revolutionary Guard commanders to an emergency meeting at a secret location, which was obliterated in a precise strike. Among the dead were the Chief of Staff of the Army, leaders of the Revolutionary Guard, and six prominent scientists from the nuclear program, including Fereydoon Abbasi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization.
Post-operation reports confirmed the destruction of dozens of sensitive facilities, from missile depots to uranium enrichment plants, some of which Iran had denied even existed.
Operation "Rising Lion" was not merely a limited deterrent strike. Israel set a clear objective: to shatter Iran’s depth and dismantle the state’s prestige. The operation exposed a structural weakness within Iran, both security-wise and politically, accumulated over years of external interventions and regional conflicts.
The collapse was not sudden. Iran had exhausted itself on multiple fronts. It supported the Houthis in Yemen with weapons and expertise. It financed Assad’s regime in Syria to maintain its influence. It backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and loyal militias in Iraq, notably Muqtada al-Sadr’s movement. Its influence even extended to Africa through its support for the Polisario Front, classified as an armed terrorist organization threatening stability in the Sahel and Sahara regions.
All these interventions drained the economy, weakened institutions, and widened the gap between the regime and society. Following the protests of 2022, the regime lost its legitimacy among broad segments of the population, particularly with the escalation of social and ethnic crises in regions such as Kurdistan, Balochistan, and Khuzestan. The regime’s priority shifted from protecting borders to controlling the interior.
Israel recognized this erosion. It wagered on time, investing in the disintegration of internal structures, planting agents and sleeper cells, and biding its time for the right moment to strike.
Even the logistics of the operation raise questions. The refueling aircraft used by Israel were Boeing 707s, which are slow and large, suggesting they traversed the airspace of countries that did not object to their passage. Indications point toward Syrian airspace, and possibly other Arab countries, which either turned a blind eye or allowed it implicitly.
Iran’s response so far has been lackluster. An unsuccessful attempt to send drones toward Israel achieved nothing. Political statements failed to match the magnitude of the strike, revealing confusion. Despite activating some air defenses later, Iran remained unable to mount a significant counterattack.
The pressing question now is: Does Iran still possess the capability to defend itself? Can its regime endure under this kind of complex assault that targets the internal structure rather than just military installations?
The most dangerous aspect of Operation "Rising Lion" is that it was not solely military; it was a clear declaration that Iran no longer maintains full control over its territory and that its interventions in foreign affairs have led to its internal collapse.
